


What if there is no tomorrow?

by spacewitchqueen (vixy)



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Background relationships not tagged only mentioned, Groundhog Day AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-04 11:38:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6656338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vixy/pseuds/spacewitchqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What is there to do when you're stuck living the same day over and over?</p>
            </blockquote>





	What if there is no tomorrow?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bebravenow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bebravenow/gifts).



Kylo woke up with a start, the sudden recovery of consciousness disorienting him. He felt around blindly for his phone; the screen read 6:57 AM. Great. His internal clock had robbed him of three precious minutes of slumber. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his palms against them. He considered ignoring the damn time and just sleep in, but the sharp beep of the alarm reminded him that his mother would come in and drag him out of bed anyway.

Sure enough, Kylo could hear her already bustling about, quite the businesswoman, always in a hurry. He sighed and resigned himself to another day of mind-numbing boredom at school.

After a shower, he made his way downstairs. He hoped his mother would be gone by now. There were no more noises of high heels clicking on the floor; the living room and dining room were empty. Kylo’s face lit up but upon entering the kitchen, his frown returned.

“Good morning, dear.” Leia greeted him.

Kylo mumbled something unintelligible in return.

“Sleep well? You look tired. Ready for school? Today’s a special day!”

Kylo rolled his eyes, chugged down some juice and left his mother without so much as a second glance.

He arrived on time for first period English. He sat down, took out a notebook and rummaged in his backpack for a pen, not because he meant to actually take notes, but he thought it’d be nicer to doodle than to doze off.

“Morning, everybody.” Mr. Tarkin came in, closing the door behind him. “Clear your desks, you’ll only need a pen... We’ll have an exam today.”

Kylo looked up in shock.

“What?” He blurted out loud. Some of his classmates laughed. The person behind him smacked him in the head.

“Idiot.” A familiar –and annoyed- voice murmured.

“Like I just said. Exam. Now.”

Kylo bit his lip. He wasn’t doing well, he couldn’t allow himself to fail yet another exam.

“I’m not feeling well.” He faked a cough.

“Indeed.” Mr. Tarkin said, handing out sheets.

 

Forty minutes later, Kylo was out of that particular frying pan, and into the fire. The Biology teacher reminded the class about the science projects; they were due next week. Kylo’s teammates glared at him. He pulled up his hoodie, trying to shield himself from their accusing stares.

“Yes, yes. I know. I know. I will get to it.” He thought.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Phasma and Hux leaning towards each other to whisper. Only Hux didn’t exactly whisper.

“Kick him out.” He said to Phasma.

“He’s our friend.”

“I’m not going to fail because of him.”

Kylo skipped lunch. He wasn’t eager to face Hux and Phasma and having them scold him. He took refuge in an empty classroom, sat down against the door and closed his eyes. The first thing that came to his mind was the look of utter disappointment in Hux’s face when he had turned in his exam paper, half empty. Kylo had just shrugged, why should it matter to Hux? He thought Kylo was an idiot anyway. He’d made it clear countless times. He was sure Hux had only agreed to team up with him because Phasma had vouched for him. And now he was letting her down too.

He thought about that one time he’d almost asked Hux out. Almost. Until he’d heard Hux talking to Phasma about him. “Him? Please. He’s absolutely awful. Lazy. Stubborn. Reckless.” Hux had said, and Kylo didn’t need to hear anything else for himself. His stomach churned unpleasantly, partly because he was hungry, partly because of that memory.

When the bell rang, Kylo made his way to the gym for basketball practice. He knew he’d had to endure Coach Snoke’s lecture about all the mistakes that had cost them the last game but he was actually looking forward to the physical exercise. He didn’t expect, however, that the lecture would highlight every single mistake he’d made. He hadn’t asked to be the star. He couldn’t carry the team on his back every time. This was unfair. Even Poe and Finn looked uncomfortable. They weren’t exactly friends with Kylo, but they played for the same team, and they knew it hadn’t been just Kylo’s fault. At one point Kylo just lost his temper, he talked back and the coach decided to suspend him from the team, indefinitely. He left the gym in a rage, kicking everything on his way.

After that fiasco, he decided to just leave. What was the point of staying? The day couldn’t get any worse.

His phone buzzed once. A text.

“I need to talk to you.” Hux. Great. Kylo didn’t reply. He was sure Hux would politely remind him about the damn science thing and he wasn’t in the mood for being kicked out of yet another team.

He walked around mindlessly for a long while. He was still far from home when it started raining. Kylo didn’t even try to run. He was soaking wet within a minute. Just fantastic, he thought.

 

The house was dark when he finally got home. Kylo slammed the door on his way in and headed to the bathroom, leaving a trail of wet clothes behind him.

“Happy birthday!”

Kylo froze midstep as the lights came on. His mother, his father, uncle Luke, his cousin Rey, Finn, Poe, Phasma… and Hux, were all standing awkwardly around the dining room table.

Kylo was down to his underwear, with his hands on the waistband of his boxers, as he’d been about to drop those too. His face reddened.

“What the hell are you doing here? Go away!” He yelled at his family and friends as he ran upstairs and slammed his door shut. No one could convince him to come back down, or to even answer.

A minute before midnight he got a text.

“Happy birthday. You’re a real jerk.”

Kylo glared at the screen feigning disinterest but he bit his lip.

You’re right, Hux, I am. He thought, bitterly.

“Happy fucking birthday to me.” Kylo muttered and closed his eyes, falling into a dreamless sleep.

 

He woke up to a strange feeling. He reached for his phone, expecting to see Hux’s “unread” message in the screen, but only the time blinked back at him. 6:57. “Weird, same time as yesterday.” He yawned. If he had paid closer attention, he would have noticed something else in the screen.

He wasn’t looking forward to face the world. He supposed he owed some big apologies. He figured he’d start with his mother. He went downstairs, bracing himself for whatever his mother might throw at him, in the way of words, or worse.

“Good morning, dear.”

Kylo stood there silently.

“Sleep well? You look tired. Ready for school? Today’s a special day!”

"What? Listen mom... about yesterday..."

Leia looked at him expectantly.

"What about yesterday?"

"I'm sorry..."

"For not cleaning your room? Well, that's a new one." Leia smiled, and tucked a strand of hair behind Kylo's ear.

Kylo was nonplussed.

"Eat your breakfast. You're going to be late."

Kylo left his house still confused about that exchange. He was sure Leia would be angry with him for being rude to his family and friends. Fine, he could work with that. If she wasn't going to mention it, then neither would he.

 

He arrived at school thinking that he'd just ignore anyone who asked what had happened to him the day before. He sat at his desk and then he noticed something. Why was Hux wearing the same clothes? Not that Kylo minded but Hux wouldn't be caught dead wearing dirty clothes. He was thinking about teasing Hux about not making it home last night -his heart sinking a little- when the teacher spoke.

"Morning, everybody. Clear your desks; you’ll only need a pen... We’ll have an exam today."

"What?" Kylo yelled.

The smack to the back of his head came unexpectedly enough to make him flinch. “Idiot.” He heard Hux say. The horrible feeling of déjà-vu or something worse gripped him.

“Didn’t we do this yesterday?” Kylo asked, rubbing his head.

Mr. Tarkin stared blankly back at Kylo for a second and then began handing out sheets.

Kylo was utterly confused by all this so he just went along with it. He was able to fill in a couple more answers just because he'd seen them yesterday and he'd had time to remember he actually knew this. "You play stupid. You are not." Hux had told him once.

But why would the teacher give them the same exam twice? Did everyone fail? And then, as he was about to turn in his paper he noticed. The date. Surely this was a mistake. Or maybe it was just that Mr. Tarkin literally used the same exam sheet.

Right?

He walked to his next class trying to fight that unsettling feeling. He tried not to notice the things around him. The sound of lockers being opened and closed. The same kid that had stepped on his laces and tripped yesterday, falling to the floor again.

As soon as the Biology teacher reminded them of the project and Kylo heard Phasma and Hux talking about him he knew something was definitely not right. He got up and walked out of the classroom without excusing himself.

As a last test to prove he was not imagining things, he went to the gym. When he heard the first few words out of Coach Snoke’s mouth, he’d had it. He didn’t even lose his temper this time, he just stormed out of the gym, Snoke yelling at him to come back and that he was suspended.

He left the school in a daze. Maybe he was still asleep and he'd managed to dream all that had happened yesterday?

Kylo looked up at the sky, the clouds looked threatening, the first few drops of a storm beginning to fall.

He ran home, dreading what would happen next.

“Kylo! You weren’t supposed to be home yet… Oh, well, surprise!” Leia said with a bright smile. She had a cake in her hands.

“What is everyone playing at? My birthday was yesterday!” Kylo screamed, his voice breaking.

Kylo ran to his room and refused to come out until everyone agreed to stop the prank and apologized to him.

Just a minute before midnight he got a text. “Happy birthday. You’re a real jerk.”

What the hell was going on? Anxiety was taking over him. He lied down on the bed and tried to stay awake, to think, but sleep crept up on him.

 

When he opened his eyes again, he was afraid of what he would see. He checked his phone with shaking hands. “November 19, 6:57”

This could not be happening. How could it possibly happen? He took a deep breath.

He got dressed and went downstairs, already knowing what was coming. 

“Good morning, dear. Sleep well? You look tired. Ready for school? Today’s a special day!”

“Mom… is today my birthday?” Kylo asked, holding his breath. Leia hugged him.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart! I was not going to mention it until later…”

“Yeah, about that,” Kylo interrupted her, “could we _not_ have any kind of party? At all.”

Leia was speechless, her mouth slightly open in surprise. “How did you…”

“Thanks.” Kylo said and left her standing there.

Good. That was taken care of. Maybe that was it. Maybe if he fixed everything that had bothered him, this nightmare would end.

 

At school, he decided to skip first period; he’d already taken the stupid exam twice. He locked himself up in an empty classroom and played on his phone until it was time for next class. He only went to Biology to announce that he was out of the team. Phasma was genuinely shocked. She tried to convince him to change his mind, telling him that he still had time to do his part of the project, offering to help him. Hux didn’t say anything to this, but his look of disapproval did the talking.

He was going to leave school then but he thought he still had something to do. He went to the gym and before Coach Snoke began talking, Kylo pointed out every single mistake everyone else had made. As expected, Coach Snoke told him to get out and kicked him from the team. Fine by him.

He got home before it rained. No one was in the house yet. He stayed in the living room watching TV. He heard his mother coming in, then his father, but no one bothered him. No cake in sight. No one else arrived.

Kylo was falling asleep on the couch when he got a text. “Did you have to be an asshole about the surprise party? Your mom was really upset. You don’t even get a ‘happy birthday’. Jerk.” Whatever, Hux. At least no one had seen him in his underwear this time, Kylo thought trying to cheer himself up, ignoring the pang of guilt.

 

Days passed by. Only they really didn’t. After some more days of the same routine, Kylo had lost count.

Then, inspiration hit him. If he was doomed to this never ending loop, he might as well enjoy it.

He considered skipping school altogether. And he did, for a few days. But then, he realized he missed…people. He didn’t want to admit to himself it was Hux he missed the most. His snide remarks, his exasperation at Kylo’s laziness, the rare smile when Kylo’s antics actually amused him.

Kylo spent a whole day thinking about Hux. He was sure he liked Hux, he just couldn’t fathom why. He thought back to when he’d first met him, to those first times they talked. Kylo had crushed stupidly on the redhead guy almost immediately, but he had no clue what to do about it. Hux had never said he openly disliked Kylo, but he had never said he liked him either. Most of the time, Hux’s demeanor towards Kylo lingered between mild annoyance and somewhat akin to contempt. He wondered if Hux found him attractive in any way. He daydreamed about that possibility and then he thought he’d rather like to find out.

When his father got home and sat down to dinner, Kylo snuck out the back door and “borrowed” his car. He drove to Hux’s house barely within the speed limit. There was no need for the car, really, he could have walked. But then again, why should he walk? He was feeling adventurous.

Kylo stood outside for a few minutes, unsure about what to do next. He chose to try the kitchen’s sliding door. It looked like no one was home. He found Hux’s room and went inside. Kylo sat on the bed, deciding he’d wait for Hux. But after a few minutes, he was feeling restless. He began pacing and then he was opening drawers, examining things, he was halfway inside Hux’s closet when someone dragged him out.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Hux hissed.

“I was just waiting for you…”

“Do you have no manners? Damn! You’re so reckless! I could have hit you thinking you were a burglar!”

Kylo grinned at the image of Hux hitting him. Like that could happen. He looked at Hux and the smile disappeared from his face. Hux was really angry.

“Get out.”

Kylo didn’t get a text that night.

 

Now he really had a project. Kylo wanted Hux to change his mind about him.

But how to go on about it? He decided to start small.

 

“Hello, Hux.”

Hux didn’t reply, not because he wanted to be rude, he was just in shock Kylo had actually said something nice. But before Hux could acknowledge this, Mr. Tarkin spoke.

"Morning, everybody. Clear your desks; you’ll only need a pen... We’ll have an exam today."

Kylo turned back to smile at Hux. He answered the exam in record time; he knew all the answers by heart now. He handed his sheet to Mr. Tarkin then used the spare time to get ready for the next class. He actually had something decent to share with his project team.

Phasma beamed at him, she was impressed; Hux was too but he wasn’t about to admit it.

Kylo just huffed it off like it was nothing. “What, you guys thought I would let you down?”

He went to lunch with them, and sat next to Hux. Hux didn’t seem to be as displeased by this as usual.

“Salad, really?” He eyed Kylo’s tray.

“You know, athletes have to eat healthy.”

“True. Shame you almost never do.” Hux said. Kylo was sure he could almost hear a note of approval in his voice.

“Why don’t you come see us train?”

“I’ll think about it. Unlike you, I don’t ditch classes on a whim.” Hux said matter-of-factly but a slight blush colored his cheeks.

 

Kylo went to the gym and changed into his uniform. When he got out of the locker rooms he looked around hopefully. His hope was rewarded when he saw Hux sitting on a bench by the court.

Coach Snoke began berating them. Kylo knew he had to be patient. He waited until the right moment and he apologized for his mistakes and promised to work harder. This seemed to mollify the coach, who didn’t bother to yell anymore and they went straight to training.

Kylo had been training overtime too. He’d had countless hours of practice by now. He could score free throws with his eyes closed. With Hux watching, Kylo did close his eyes just for show.

This became his new routine at school, and after training, Kylo would ask Hux if he could walk him home. He tried to learn about him, he wanted to. He actually listened to Hux speak, and every day Hux gave him a new secret.

The best indicator or how the day had gone were Hux’s texts near midnight (he was still telling Leia to not have people over for a surprise party, if only maybe a bit more politely):

“Happy birthday.”

“It was fun. Happy birthday.”

“Happy birthday. You’re still an idiot.”

But that was just it. When Kylo was sure Hux might be interested in him some day, he realized “some day” would never come. And it was back to square one the “next” day, and back to Hux barely tolerating him.

What kind of cosmic joke was this?

He was sure he would go mad. Perhaps he’d already gone mad. There was no other explanation for this.

 

“What would you do if there was no tomorrow?” Kylo blurted out to Hux after school one day.

“What do you mean? Like, if the world ended or if I died or…”

“Just imagine that everything you do has no ultimate consequences, you get a clean slate the next day.” He looked straight into Hux’s eyes. “Would you rob a bank?”

“What for, if the next day doesn’t come, how would I spend the money?” Hux rolled his eyes.

“Would you kill someone?”

“Are you serious?”

“Would you kill yourself?”

“That’s just sick.”

“Would you do something rash like…”

“…freediving?”

“…telling someone you might have fallen in love with them?”

Kylo held Hux’s hand and pulled him closer.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Kylo kissed Hux. Well, he tried to kiss Hux, but the second his lips were on Hux’s, Hux had shoved Kylo hard and walked away.

He tried it again a few more times, straight after school, going to Hux’s house at night; every time the result was the same. Hux liked him, but not enough for that.

 

Kylo decided to leave things be. He’d never be with Hux like that. He thought he should focus his energy and time on something else. He watched TV shows he’d always wanted to watch; old movies he never thought he’d see. He read books he hadn’t even considered picking up before. He drew a lot, too. He was pleased that, while everything stayed the same for everyone else, his memory of the day, the new things he did, the new skills he learned, remained with him.

He also gave himself the time to talk to some other people. Phasma had always been his friend, but lately he’d been so into himself, he’d barely paid attention to her. He helped Rey with schoolwork. “You’re the best big cousin.” Hardly, Kylo thought. But he’d try harder. He thought about giving “the talk” to Rey’s boyfriend, Finn. But he realized he didn’t need to. Finn was actually a pretty decent guy. He would’ve known this already if he paid closer attention at basketball practice. He spent some time with his parents, too. He’d grown distant with them in the past years, as distant as they could be with each other sometimes. And still, there was love in his house it was undeniable. He wondered if he’d ever experience such affection. He learned about all these people, who were around him every day and yet he barely knew.

But again, they only got to like Kylo for a day, a few hours. Come morning, they wouldn’t remember. Kylo decided that it didn’t matter. He’d try. He’d keep trying. For them and for himself.

 

He woke up. 6:57.

He showered and went downstairs.

“Good morning, mom.”

“Good morning, dear.” Leia’s warm smile greeted him. “Sleep well? You look tired. Ready for school? Today’s a special day!”

“Yes, it is.” He said, smiling back at her.

 

“Morning, everybody. Clear your desks; you’ll only need a pen... We’ll have an exam today." Mr. Tarkin, right on time.

Kylo actually put some thought behind his open answers. He’d read all the books by now.

On the way to Biology, he stopped the boy from falling in the hallway.

“Thanks!” The boy said cheerfully. Until next time, Kylo thought.

In Biology, he felt like boasting a little, so he delivered the damned science project. He’d had enough time to finish it by himself. Hell, he’d had enough time to finish everyone else’s.

Phasma looked like a proud mom. Hux was pleased and considering Hux was, well Hux, “pleased” was huge.

He waited for Kylo to finish training to thank him.

“See? I’ve always said you’re not dumb. I just don’t know why you like to pretend you are. That was a really good job you did with the project.”

Was Hux actually smiling at him? Kylo beamed with pride, but the happiness went away as suddenly as it had come.

“Tomorrow you won’t remember any of this.” He sighed.

“What, you think I have amnesia?” Hux raised an eyebrow.

“I’m.. it doesn’t matter.” Kylo hesitated.

“Tell me.” Hux insisted, he could tell something was really bothering Kylo.

“I’ve been living the same day.”

“What?” Hux asked, unsure what he meant.

“Never mind.”

They got to Kylo’s home then, only mildly wet from the first droplets of rain.

 

“Happy birthday!”

“Wow! A surprise party?” Kylo had been practicing his wow-this-was-completely-unexpected face for such a long time it was believable. Everyone had a good time.

After the party, Hux offered to help Kylo clean. He’d noticed Kylo was really conflicted when he tried to talk to him earlier.

“About that thing you were saying...” Hux began in a low voice.

“Just forget it.”

“No, listen. Listen, I know the feeling. You’re stuck in the same routine and you see no way out. Things will change, it will get better.”

Kylo look bewildered.

“No. I didn’t mean that. I mean I’ve been living the same day over and over. Literally. And I’m honestly afraid tomorrow will never come.”

Now it was Hux who couldn’t think of anything to say, for once.

“What? How?”

“I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but it’s been my birthday for months on end now. I can do things differently, but everything else, everyone else stays the same.” Kylo was clutching his fists, trying not to lose control.

Hux didn’t say anything.

“You don’t believe me.”

“I will stay with you tonight.”

Kylo nodded and they finished cleaning the living room in silence.

 

“So how does this work? Do I disappear? Do you turn into a pumpkin at midnight?” Hux asked, as soon as Kylo closed the door to his room.

“I’m not sure. I just sort of fall asleep and then I wake up at 6:57 the next day, on the same day.”

“So we wait. Let’s try to stay awake.” Hux eyed the room and then stared at Kylo.

“I’ve always liked your hair.” Hux said, taking a lock of Kylo’s hair between his fingers. “I guess it would look nicer if you cut it but…”

Hux had Kylo sit down on the bed and then began braiding his hair.

They killed time talking. Kylo had been reading so much lately, he could actually hold a conversation about many different topics (that they were some of Hux’s favorites was entirely coincidental, of course).

 

It was almost 6 AM when Kylo started feeling drowsy but he didn’t want to fall asleep, didn’t want to miss whatever moments he might have with a fully aware Hux.

He was feeling anxious again, unconsciously digging his nails into his palms.

Hux noticed and took Kylo’s hands in his, gently unclenching his fists, intertwining their fingers instead. Hux didn’t know what to say so he just let Kylo squeeze his hands, until he lost some feeling.

However, the touch seemed to be soothing Kylo.

Hux took a deep breath and pushed Kylo down so they were now lying down on their sides, facing each other.

“It’s going to be fine.”

Hux freed one hand from Kylo’s and ran a finger connecting the dots on Kylo’s face.

Kylo raised his hand tentatively waiting until Hux nodded it was alright to, before he traced Hux’s features. The soft eyelids, the nose, the mouth that could either be full of spite or rationality.

They stared at each other for a second before closing the small distance between them. Kylo’s lips crushed full on Hux’s mouth, catching it in a desperate kiss. Hux reciprocated with the same need, twisting his fingers into Kylo’s hair and thrusting his hips forward. Kylo groaned. Who would have imagined?

In a second, Kylo’s hands were underneath Hux’s shirt, touching, scratching. Hux lost all pretense of self control, he was grinding against Kylo’s leg, the friction driving him mad.

Hux reached inside Kylo’s pants and caressed his cock, running his thumb along it and then making a fist around it, Kylo moaning all the time.

Hux smiled and kissed Kylo roughly. “Shhh! This is your parents’ house for goodness' sake!” But he struggled to keep quiet when Kylo bit into the kiss and grabbed his ass.

Hux changed the rhythm of his strokes, slow first then quicker, harder. He kissed Kylo’s neck, barely pressing his lips against the sensitive skin on his throat and then nipping at it, sucking a trail to Kylo’s collarbone. This was too much for Kylo, he came all over Hux’s hand, whispering his name.

Hux looked at something over Kylo’s shoulder and grinned.

“What’s so funny?”

“Look for yourself.”

Kylo turned around and saw his phone vibrating on the nightstand. His alarm, 7 AM. November 20. He could’ve jumped, he felt so happy. Instead, he held Hux closer.

"Tomorrow came!" He kissed Hux. "Tomorrow came when I did." They both laughed.

“That wasn’t half bad, birthday boy. Let’s do it again some other time, preferably somewhere else. Thank you for the story.”

"Some other time? What makes you think you're done right now?" Kylo said, pulling Hux into a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a really fun prompt, I hope it's close to what you wanted :)


End file.
